Pokemon World Tour! Pt 1
by dk5688
Summary: "6 Regions! 6 Teams! 6 Tournaments! Tune in as the best of the best of the best of each region go head to head to find out which region has the best trainers in the World!" Fifteen years after the events of Ruby & Sapphire, join two trainers as they leave their home island of Dewford to prove they have what it takes to be the best in the world.
1. Chapter 1

"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, Aipoms and Zangooses, the moment you've all been waiting for is fast approaching! The meteoric rise of Trainer Sean Sabal is about to reach its apex! For the first time in almost three years, Champion Manfred will have to defend his title-" the rest of the report was lost in a buzz of frenzied conversation. In Dewford Hall, a half-dozen young pokemon trainers had gathered to watch the highly anticipated match.

Interest in the match had skyrocketed due to Champion Manfred's immense popularity, Sean's storybook victories in the League tournament, his crushing defeat in the semi-finals, and his come-from-behind win in the Consolation Match that granted him the right to challenge the Champion. No 3rd Place winner had challenged a Champion in almost fifty years, and Sean was causing quite the uproar. He had blasted through the Elite 4 quicker than either the 1st or 2nd place winners, and he had done it using only grass and poison pokemon. It was the ultimate underdog story, and all of Hoenn would be tuning in.

"Hey Ben! It's starting! Bring the snacks in would ya?!" shouted a young man. The boy in question, Ben, was another young trainer. He was seventeen years old, and like most people in Dewford, in excellent shape from years spent surfing, rock climbing, and martial arts training. His wavy brown hair touched his shoulders, and his round face was split into an excited grin. Around his head he wore a white bandana with a green leaf in the center- a show of support for the challenger. He wore a blue tank-top over blue and white board shorts and looked as if he had just finished swimming in the ocean.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm on my way. Scoot over!" Ben tried scooting in between two other boys on the couch, but when they wouldn't budge he settled on the arm of the couch and passed the bowl of chips down to a bare chested boy wearing cargo shorts and a black bandana with a gray mountain on it. He was Ben's best friend Roland, but everyone called him Rocky.

"It's about time! You know this is only going to take, like, 5 minutes for Manfred to crush this leaf-loving dork right?" said Rocky as he pulled the bowl of chips onto his lap.

"Yeah we'll see about that. Lot of people said that about Drake too. How long did that match take? Fifteen minutes?"

"Twenty. And Sean cheated- no Swalot should be able to use Ice Beam. It's a big stomach full of poison! Where does the ice come from?" Ben rolled his eyes at his best friend. Rocky could act as stupid as he wanted, but the truth was he and Ben were two of the best trainers on the island. They trained with Brawly almost every day.

"Hey Hugo, come put Rocky in a headlock for me," Ben called over his shoulder. On the other side of the room was a gaggle of the boys' pokemon. They were having their own party with lots of pokeblocks, poffins, lemonade, and even their own T.V. At the sound of his name, a Makuhita perked up from the purple pokeblock he was eating and starting waddling over. The round yellow pokemon was grinning, and his topknot bounced jovially as he began nearing the couch.

"Whoa! Hugo, NO! Get back! Bruno! Get this punk away from me!" called Rocky. A Machop jumped on the back of the Makuhita, tackling him and the two started wrestling good naturedly.

"Hey! Cut it out you two! They're coming onto the field now!" called one of the other boys. Instantly, the two pokemon stopped wrestling and plopped down by their T.V. The two boys joined the others in hushed anticipation of the coming battle. The T.V. showed an immense stadium of stone and boulders. Manfred was of the Hiker sub-culture of trainers, and as Champion was allowed to design his own arena. Sean would be facing Manfred on his home turf.

The camera panned to the Champion's Box. Manfred was huge. His barrel chest looked wider than any two other men's put together, and his graying beard looked as if it could hide a nest of Taillow with no problem. The man had been champion for ten years, ever since he had beaten May Senri- the Hoenn Ruby- in a battle that many called the best of all time. He was famous for using immensely powerful pokemon, and favored steamrolling his opponents as to out-maneuvering them. As he stepped into his command box, he began to line up six pokeballs on the counter in front of him.

"Oh baby. You know Agamemnon is in there somewhere, just waiting to be UNLEASHED!" crowed Rocky. Agamemnon was Manfred's signature pokemon, a ferocious Aggron that was said to be able to withstand any onslaught, and could devastate an entire mountain. As Rocky began reciting the numerous conquests of Agamemnon, the camera switched to the challenger.

Sean was in his early twenties. He was trim and well-tanned from his time spent in the sun raising his grass pokemon. His pokeballs were already assembled in front of him, and he reached up to turn his baseball cap around backwards, showing a leaf symbol identical to the one on Ben's headband. He took off his green and white jacket, leaving only a black t-shirt and jeans. He glanced at the camera, grinned, winked, and turned back to the field.

"Yeah, well I hope he's ready for Jade. She's been on a roll lately," retorted Ben. Jade was Sean's Sceptile- the final form of the grass Hoenn starter. Just then, the reporter reappeared on the screen.

"Today's battle will be a full battle. 6-on-6, no items allowed. Trainers may make challenges as they please, and all pokemon have been tested for illegal performance enhancements. Any and all pokemon species may be used, and no attacks may be made on the trainer or the trainer's box. Withdrawn pokemon remain eligible for further competition, unless they are deemed unable to battle. This an official challenge for the Championship of the Hoenn Pokemon League. Defending Champion Manfred takes on Challenger Sean. The match begins in –

-3-

-2-

-1-

-Battle!-


	2. Chapter 2

_A Clash of Champions_

With an explosion of red light from both boxes, the match began. On top of a large stone pillar near Sean, the red energy began to coalesce into a large, saurian –like pokemon with a long neck and four broad leaves coming out of its shoulders. Sean had chosen the flying/grass type Tropius. Near Manfred, the light grew into a massive, spiky metal snake – a Steelix.

"Razor leaf! Now!" called Sean. Tropius sent a storm of razor sharp leaves flying towards the massive iron snake. The leaves cut grooves and gouges into the beast's armor, but did little real damage.

"Set up a sandstorm!" Manfred bellowed. With a grating roar, the segments of Steelix's body began to turn, and the iron snake whipped its tail across the arena, kicking up bits of rock and other debris. Quickly, the arena was a mess of whirling sand and gravel.

Sean grimaced. "Tropius, fly above the storm!" Tropius began beating the giant leaves on its back and headed up out of the battering storm.

"Not so fast. Smack Down now!" Steelix lunged forward and with a flash of its tail, sent a boulder flying towards Tropius. The boulder came down hard on the back of the pokemon, and brought it crashing back down into the heart of the storm. Without waiting for a command from its trainer, Tropius began beating the leaves on its back even harder, sending out a storm of leaves that began encircling the enemy Steelix, harassing it relentlessly.

"_Oooh! Tropius is brought back to ground with a wicked Smack Down by Steelix! But don't count our flying flower out yet! It's countering with the vicious Leaf Tornado, a powerful move that can do a lot of damage very quickly!" _came the announcer's voice over.

"Gyro Ball!" shouted Manfred. The Steelix suddenly curled up into a tight ball, and shot out towards the grounded Tropius.

"Get out of there!" cried Sean. Tropius took off from the ground in a flash as the rampaging Steelix leveled the area where it had been. Tropius landed on top of a stone pillar and turned to face the Steelix who was just now unrolling after the attack. "Now, Seed Bomb!" With a giant leap, Tropius took flight and circled around Steelix, dropping seeds from the fruit bunch at its neck. As the seeds fell, they exploded with flashes of powerful light. The explosions rocked around Steelix, causing the massive pokemon to writhe in pain.

"_And Tropius gets the drop on Steelix with a wicked Seed Bomb attack! Steelix is looking hurt out there folks. Could this be the limit of its legendary endurance?"_

"Now, finish it! Magical Leaf!" Strange, multi-colored leaves flew from Tropius's back as it landed, and jetted straight towards Steelix.

"Flash Cannon!" Steelix's counter attack was a blast of blazing hot energy that shot straight for Tropius. Tropius tried to get out of the way, but wasn't quite fast enough to completely avoid the blast. It slammed into the pillar Tropius had been standing on, sending rock in all directions. Tropius was pelted by debris and thrown through the air. Meanwhile, the strange leaves had danced around the powerful beam, and slammed home into Steelix's already weakened armor plating. The attack whipped the beasts head around, and dropped it to the ground.

"_Oh WOW! An absolutely devastating Flash Cannon nearly takes out Tropius, but the powerful Magical Leaf still finds its mark and takes Steelix out! Sean has won this round, but Tropius looks hurt. How will the next round go?"_

In a flash of red, Manfred recalled his battered Steelix. He then threw out another pokeball, revealing a large purple bat.

"_And Manfred has called out a Crobat! This poison flyer will be quite the challenge for the battered Tropius. What will be Sean's next move? Oh, wait a minute! Tropius is DOWN! It looks like it just couldn't stand the pounding from the Sandstorm that Steelix had kicked up! We have a TIE for the first round!"_

Grimacing, Sean withdrew Tropius. The sandstorm was a dangerous obstacle, but was beginning to lose power. Thinking quickly, he grabbed another ball and lobbed it as high as he could. As the ball arced high through the air and fell towards the ground, the storm gradually lost momentum and subsided. When the ball finally hit ground, a flash of light revealed a massive mustachioed purple blob. Swalot.

"_Sean sends out his Swalot! It looks like we have the battle of the poisoners today folks!"_

"Air Cutter Crobat!" shouted Manfred. The wicked bat whipped its four wings forward, sending vicious slices of air towards the amorphous Swalot. The slices slammed into the big pokemon, but seemed not to bother the big pokemon. In fact, it yawned.

"_Crobat's Air Cutter seems to be boring Swalot. It's having trouble staying awake!"_

Sean grinned. It was a relatively simple strategy, but effective nonetheless. Swalot was tricking Crobat into feeling tired, and lulling it to sleep. Crobat sent a few more vicious attacks Swalot's way, but could not make a dent on the larger pokemon. Soon, the subtle mind effect of Swalot's attack took hold, and the Crobat floated gently towards the ground where it began snoozing.

"Now Swalot! Body Slam!" Swalot reared up and brought its full weight slamming down onto the sleeping Crobat. Swalot reared up, and came crashing down again, finishing off the downed opponent.

With a grimace, Manfred recalled Crobat. Though obviously irritated, Manfred wasted no time selecting his next combatant. With a flash of red light, an orange quadruped formed on the ground near Swalot.

"_A Camerupt?! This is a new one for the Champion! Look out Sean, Manfred's got your number!"_

"Hit it with Ice Beam Swalot!" called Sean. Swalot opened up its mouth, and a jet of white energy shot towards the distant pokemon; who, at a bellowed command from Manfred, launched a blazing hot Flamethrower right back. The two attacks slammed into one another, with the Flamethrower over-powering the ice attack and burning over Swalot- who seemed only vaguely singed. Grinning, Sean called out his next attack. "Now use Sludge Bomb!" Swalot reared back, but Manfred's Camerupt was faster. Raising its leg, the Camerupt slammed down onto the ground, causing the arena floor to leap and heave, throwing Swalot around. A portion of the rocky floor even buckled, causing Swalot to go crashing in.

"Now, Rockslide!" Camerupt slammed onto the ground again, this time causing a portion of the rocky ground to break off and rush towards the trapped Swalot.

"Use Ice Beam! Make a wall of ice!" Cried Sean. Swalot unleashed a blast of power, trying to form a wall of ice as quickly as it could. But the rockslide was too powerful; it crashed through the ice wall and slammed into Swalot, dropping the poison pokemon to the ground and out of the match.

"_And now Swalot is out! So far the match is neck and neck! Each trainer has lost two pokemon! The action is really heating up now. These trainers are holding nothing back!"_

As Sean recalled Swalot, he was already throwing out another pokeball. What appeared was a surprise to everyone: a dancing, broad-brim hat wearing pokemon. Ludicolo. This was a new development- Sean had never used a Ludicolo in battle before and no one was expecting it.

"_A Ludicolo takes the field! Look out everyone! The jolly water/grass type will be hard for Camerupt to beat!"_

"Ludicolo! Let's get this party started. Bring the rain with Rain Dance!" shouted Sean. Ludicolo wasted no time beginning a complicated series of rhythmic movements, shaking its hips and waving its hands. Overhead, clouds began to form inside of the arena, and a downpour began drenching the combatants.

"Flamethrower Camerupt!" A blast of fire roared from the Camerupt's mouth, sizzling in the rain. The fire struck the dancing Ludicolo, but barely succeeded in knocking it off center. The dancing plant turned and sent out a blast of water from its hands. The jet of water slammed into Camerupt, pulsing as the torrent washed over the fire/ground type. Shaking off the powerful attack, the fire pokemon reared up, and slammed into the ground again, causing the arena to rattle and break apart even more. The rumbling ground slammed into Ludicolo, almost knocking it off its feet, but the pokemon was able to dance its way into a nearby pool that had formed from the rain.

"Use your Lava Plume!" bellowed Manfred. From the rocky back of the Camerupt, scarlet flames flowed out and towards the pool Ludicolo had taken refuge in. The flames rushed towards the pool like lava, sizzling in the rain and blackening the field. As the flames roared across the water, Sean made his move.

"Ludicolo! Surf!" as the flames exploded against the water in a rush of steam, Ludicolo came rising out of the cloud riding on top of a monstrous wave of water. The water plummeted towards Camerupt, sweeping the eruption pokemon away in a violent torrent. As the water leveled out, Camerupt could be seen lying on its side on the ground. The poor pokemon looked to be in bad shape, and was definitely not going to be able to continue battling.

"Nice work Camerupt. Return!" Camerupt disappeared in a flash of red light. After a moment of hesitation, Manfred loosed another pokeball. This time, a bizarre looking pokemon emerged from the light. Black, with strange red eyes encircling its head, the boys at home looked at each other in confusion. None of them had seen that pokemon before.

"_Oooh! Another surprise! Champion Manfred has released a Claydol! The Champion has never been known to make use of psychic type pokemon before. How will Sean respond to this change in tactics?"_

Sean was obviously surprised, but wasted no time. "Ludicolo, hit that thing with Bubblebeam!" Ludicolo waved his hands about, and sent a rush of super-charged bubbles blasting towards the strange rotating pokemon.

"Protect!" A shimmering shield of energy appeared around Claydol, protecting it from the powerful water attack. "Now get rid of this rain!" At the Champion's command, Claydol began spinning quickly. Its two little arms pointed up towards the thrashing rain clouds, blasting powerful beams towards them. As the clouds dissipated, the beams coalesced into a single glowing orb, bathing the blasted and drenched arena in a harsh light.

"I guess that works. Use Mega Drain Ludicolo!" Ludicolo leapt towards Claydol, placing both hands on the rotating pokemon. Ludicolo began draining energy from the strange pokemon. Claydol spun away quickly, but not before Ludicolo was able to siphon off a significant amount of energy. The strange pokemon looked wounded.

"Blast that dancing water lily! Hyper Beam!" shouted Manfred. With a spin, the Claydol brought both of its small arms up to point at Ludicolo, and let loose with an immense blast of energy. The rainbow colored energy slammed into the other pokemon, sending it flying backwards and bouncing off of a nearby boulder.

"_OUCH! And Claydol gets in a wicked hit on the poor Ludicolo. Folks, I don't know if that blow could have landed any more solidly than it did. That critical blast just finished off Ludicolo. Tough break for Sean. Let's see how he recovers from this set-back."_

"Alright, let's see how you like this," mumbled Sean. He flung out a pokeball, and another bipedal pokemon appeared. It was about six feet tall, had three round heads, and a bunch of palm-like leaves coming out of its head.

"_Brilliant! Sean counters the psychic Claydol with his own psychic-Exeggutor! The first non-Hoenn pokemon Sean has used since the tournament!"_

The two psychic pokemon faced each other on the battlefield, waiting for the other to make a move. Sean spoke up first. "Exeggutor, use your Light Screen!" The tree-like pokemon's heads began to glow, and a wall of light appeared. Just in time too. Claydol had launched another powerful Hyper Beam attack. The attack slammed into Exeggutor's light screen, but was unable to blast through.

"Nice work Exeggutor. Now, hit that thing with Barrage!" With a cry, Exeggutor began launching dozens of energy balls at Claydol. The energy crashed down around the other pokemon, battering it mercilessly.

"Claydol, use your Hidden Power!" At Manfred's command Claydol spun its strange head around and whipped out an arc of blue-white energy. The energy slammed into the light screen, but some found its way around and struck Exeggutor. Stumbling backwards, Exeggutor was forced to stop its damaging attack. "Now, use Ancient Power!"

Claydol began to glow with a strange light. Debris around the pokemon began to lift into the air as the pokemon charged its next attack. It then unleashed the power straight towards Exeggutor. The attack slammed into Exeggutor's light screen in a brilliant flash of power, but Exeggutor remained standing and relatively unharmed.

"Now, use Wood Hammer! Smash that doll!" cried Sean. Exeggutor began to glow, and leapt towards Claydol. Flipping in mid-air, Exeggutor brought both feet hammering down on the other pokemon with a terrific crash. Claydol slammed to the ground at Exeggutor's feet, looking battered and injured.

"No! Claydol, use EXPLOSION!" hollered Manfred. There was a gasp from the crowd, but Claydol wasted no time. There was a bright flash, the piercing whine of building energy, and then an immense explosion that blasted Exeggutor back from the downed pokemon and created a new cloud of dust and debris. When it cleared, Claydol lay on the ground, completely spent of all energy. Across the arena, Exeggutor lay flat on the ground where the blast had left it.

"_Wow! In a last-ditch effort to avoid a disadvantage, Champion Manfred's Claydol just used the devastating Explosion attack! A brilliant move to prevent what could have been a very difficult disadvantage to overcome. Our trainers now have just two pokemon left and- what's this? Champion Manfred looks like he wants to speak to Sean?! Let's have a listen."_

"I congratulate on an excellent match. What do you think? Want to really give this crowd a show? Two on two: an epic end to an epic battle. What do you say?" said Manfred. He was speaking into a microphone, directly to Sean. There was a roar from the crowd. A 2-on-2 match to decide the Champion of Hoenn?! It had never been done before! Applause began to spread through the audience. Sean wrinkled his head in thought as he looked at his two pokeballs before him. Then, he seemed to come to a decision and grinned at the other man. For an answer, he picked up both pokeballs and sent them flying into the arena. There, the two pokeballs released his final two, and most well-known, warriors: KnuckleHead the Breloom, and Jade the Sceptile. The two pokemon were both grass types, but the mushroom headed KnuckleHead was also a fighting type. He was the brawler of the group, able to deal out a devastating offensive mix of paralysis from his mushroom spores and wicked, rock-smashing blows. Jade was a wickedly fast pokemon whose Leaf Blade had been the doom of many a poor pokemon throughout the tournaments. As Ben had pointed out, she had been on a roll and was undefeated in all the previous Elite 4 matches.

Manfred grinned. "Thatta boy," he murmured. He also released his last two pokemon. One, was the giant and terror-inspiring Agamemnon. The massive Aggron was a powerhouse, seemingly impervious to all but the strongest attacks. The second began to take the shape of a massive beast. Nearly seven feet tall, rocky spines poked out along the pokemon's back, and its tail looked as if it could topple a tree. It let out a devastating roar that shook the pebbles on the ground around it. Agamemnon answered back, and the noise drowned out the whole arena.

"_WOW! These two are really pulling out all the stops now. Sean has brought out his signature Sceptile and his legendary striker Breloom! But Manfred has unleashed Agamemnon, and it looks like he is bringing back an old friend-Tyrannus the Tyrannitar! This pokemon has not been seen since Manfred's battle with May Senri, the Hoenn Ruby, for the title of Champion almost 10 years ago. Hold on folks, this last one's going to be a doozie!"_

The trainer's stared at one another as their pokemon faced off. Manfred grinned and called, "Tyrannus, Dark Pulse! Agamemnon, use your Iron Tail!" The two pokemon immediately began their onslaught. Tyrannus let loose a wave of dark energy from its mouth. Agamemnon whirled, bringing its tail across in a humming slash. But Sean and the others were ready.

Using almost supernatural speed, Jade detected the wicked attack and leapt out of the way from the blast of dark energy that cut through the ground where she had been standing. KnuckleHead stared straight at Agamemnon, and released a puff of orange spores into the air that the iron armored pokemon ran straight through. As Agamemnon passed through the cloud, he stumbled as his muscles seemed to lock up momentarily- giving KnuckleHead just enough time to get out of the way of the Iron Tail attack.

"Now, use Sky Uppercut and Leaf Blade!" yelled Sean. KnuckleHead's small fist glowed as it jumped forward, directly underneath Agamemnon, and leapt straight into the air. The wicked move caught the massive pokemon just under the jaw, and sent it flying backwards. Jade meanwhile went flying towards Tyrannus, wielding a long leaf like a sword in the face of the giant rock dragon. The blade slashed around the larger pokemon, inflicting what looked like great pain on the beast.

"Metal Claw Agamemnon, and Tyrannus use Ice Fang!" Agamemnon roared as it swept one of its arms up and around through the air. The beast's claws glinted cruelly in the sunlight, and slashed KnuckleHead dead on. The blow sent the fighting/grass pokemon stumbling back a few paces, looking wounded but okay. Tyrannus, his mouth frothing in freezing foam, was able to get a solid bite in on Jade's left leg. The forest pokemon stumbled, chilled, but still full of fighting spirit.

At a command from Sean, Jade leapt backwards and flung out her arms and legs, and spread the leaves out on her tail in the harsh sunlight left over from Claydol. Using the extra solar energy, Jade unleashed a massive Solar Beam attack directly at Tyrannus. Tyrannus responded in kind with a Flamethrower blast-boosted by the unnatural sunlight, the attack was able to effectively counter Jade's Solar Beam. The two beams slammed together, creating yet another crater on the blasted landscape. Meanwhile, KnuckleHead launched a powerful punch at Agamemnon. Unfortunately, the Dynamic Punch went just a tad too far to the side and missed, leaving the fighting mushroom open to a counter attack. Roaring, Agamemnon unleashed a blast of electrical energy. The powerful Thunder attack slammed into KuckleHead, sending him flying. The mushroom pokemon attempted to stand up, but was racked by a series of twitches.

Sensing weakenss, Manfred sent his pokemon in for the KO. "Now, both of you, focus on the mushroom. Use Iron Head and Strength!" The two massive pokemon turned to KnuckleHead. Tyrannus picked up the paralyzed pokemon, and turned to slam him into the ground. As he turned, he met the waiting Leaf Blade of Jade. Slashing the armor pokemon across the middle, she jumped in quickly to save her comrade. Roaring, Tyrannus dropped KnuckleHead, and turned back to face this new threat. Unfortunately for Sean, Agamemnon was still able to get in a wicked headbutt. As the horned pokemon's head came down, it seemed to glint as it slammed into the Breloom. Realing, KnuckleHead launched a blindingly fast series of punches against Agamemnon. Each seemed to hurt the larger pokemon, but not enough to bring him down. Retaliating, Agamemnon again launched the powerful Thunder attack at Breloom. This time, when KnuckleHead went flying, he didn't get back up.

"No! Jade, it's up to you now! Do your best to evade them! Keep moving!" yelled Sean as he recalled his downed partner. Jade didn't disappoint. Using her superior speed, and her opponent's paralysis to her advantage, she managed to dodge a number of devastating attacks. Thunderbolts slammed the ground around her, and even a few Fire Blasts fizzled through spaces that only moments before she had occupied. But she needed to make her move fast- she couldn't dodge forever. Finally, after dodging a particularly nasty Giga Impact from Tyrannus, Jade turned and unleashed her secret weapon.

"Now Jade! Leaf Storm!" Turning, Jade whipped her tail forward and sent a storm of leaves and vines flying towards the two pokemon. So intense was the storm, that the two pokemon were hidden from view for a few seconds. When the leaves finally cleared, Agamemnon lay on the ground, clearly unconscious.

"_Jade's devastating Leaf Storm has brought down the almighty Agamemnon! What a show! Could this mean that Sean is on his way to becoming the new Champion? But wait a minute- where is Tyrannus?"_

"Jade! GET OUT OF THERE!" cried Sean. Tyrannus was nowhere to be seen, but Sean had already guessed what Jade hadn't. Sure enough, the ground around Jade erupted in an explosion of rock and dirt as Tyrannus came flying out using a powerful Dig attack. Jade, exhausted from the long battle, slammed into the ground and didn't move. Tyrannus stood over his vanquished opponent, and let loose a long roar.

"_And Jade is down! Tyrannus is the last pokemon remaining after cleverly using a Dig attack to avoid the powerful Leaf Storm! Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the winner, and still your champion, MANFRED!"_


	3. Chapter 3

_Between Friends_

"Yes! Sweet victory is all mine!" crowed Rocky. The cheers in the room were almost deafening- there were nearly matched by the groans and cries of bad officiating from the other boys.

"Sweet victory?! Manfred only called him out for a 2-on-2 because he knew that individually he wouldn't stand a chance!" barked Ben. He was scowling fiercely at the TV image of Sean. "Why would he do that? It was a stupid mistake…" Meanwhile, Hugo and Bruno had resumed their wrestling match over by the pokemon. Hugo's top-knot bounced jovially as he pushed the limber Machop over a stool and tackled him. Laughing, the two boys ran over to break up the scuffle.

"Hey, what's Professor Birch doing on TV?" asked one of the other boys. Curious, Ben and Rocky settled down with their pokemon. The bearded face of the smiling professor filled the screen as he continued speaking.

"- and to Sean as well on a battle well fought! I haven't seen a match like that in almost a decade! But, now for the big news! I am pleased to announce, back again from a half-century hiatus, the third ever Pokemon World Tour!" he cried raising his hands at the apparently big announcement. Whatever response the professor was expecting, the confused silence that followed his announcement definitely wasn't it. "Uh, *ahem*. For those of you who don't know, the Pokemon World Tour is a collaboration between 6 region's Pokemon Leagues. Each region will assemble a team of 6 pokemon trainers. These 6 teams will then go on a tour of the 6 regions, competing in various battles and competitions. The winning team gets to take home the coveted PokeRegion Master's Cup. In Hoenn, the cup would be displayed in the Ever Grande City Hall of Fame, next to the names of the Champions of Hoenn themselves!" At this news, the stadium nearly exploded. The boys in Dewford cried out in excitement, and immediately began talking.

"I've always wanted to go to Johto!" "Oh, do you think we'll get to see the Sisters of Cerulean City?!" "How are they picking teams?" "Shut up! He's still talking!"

"Selection for the teams will vary by region, but in Hoenn we are taking a tournament approach. There will be four spots that will be selected by traditional pokemon tournaments. The final two spots will be awarded to Contest Winners- those who have taken a different path in rearing their pokemon. The challenges faced by the teams will include more than just battling, so it is important that we get a good mixture of candidates for the team. All team members must be League Certified- in other words, you need to have earned 8 gym badges. Badge challenges will resume next week, but be warned: Gym Leaders have been encouraged to do their best to make sure that only the best trainers qualify for candidacy. Gym Leaders, League Officials, Professors, Champions, and Elite are ineligible for entry into the Tour, but our very own Champion will be our team's head coach. The qualifying tournaments will be held at the same time as next year's League Tournament- making it impossible for trainers to compete in both events. Choose wisely- this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! World Tours like this were once very popular, but died out thanks to the criminal activities of organizations like Team Rocket, Magma, and Plasma. Since their influences have been lessened, the League's now feel it is an excellent time to begin rebuilding broken bridges. Good luck to all the trainers and contestants who are aspiring to make the team! Know that you will be representing Hoenn to the entire world. Now get out there, and catch 'em all!" Professor Birch finished with a shout, and his final words were drowned out in applause and cheer.

Rocky turned to gape at Ben. "A world tour? We could go see New Tork in Unova! Oh man, this is awesome!"

"I know! We should go see if Brawly will battle us right now. We can get a start on our badge collections," replied Ben. "Let's go Hugo! Return!" He pointed a pokeball towards Hugo, and the Makuhita was absorbed back into his pokeball.

"Wait a minute. Not so fast big guy," said Rocky. He plopped a heavy hand on Ben's shoulder. Ben's face suddenly lost all emotion as he turned to face his best friend.

"W-what do you mean? We should get going as-"

"We had a bet, buddy. Remember?" Rocky was grinning at Ben maliciously. So were all the other boys in the room for that matter. Bruno came to stand next to rocky and grinned up at Ben as well. "Chop!" he croaked. Ben swallowed audibly.

"Karp, karp, karp, karp- gggrrglreeggll!"The pathetic red fish flopped erratically in the shallow waters off shore. There were two of them, and they were both large and slimy. Ben and Hugo knelt at the edge of the pools, looking slightly green. Rocky and the crowd of boys stood behind them, like an executioner.

"Ben! Hugo! You challenged the all-knowing ROCKY, and like so many before (and after), you have failed horribly! Now, prepare to suffer the humiliating consequences of your defeat! Before you lie your new brides. Time to pucker up!" With a chorus of jeers, cheers, and whoops, Ben and Hugo each reached out and grasped the flopping pokemon. The fish, sensing what was about to happen, struggled mightily. They flopped and squirmed, throwing water, sand, and Magikarp slime all over in a vain attempt at escape. But, the ending was inevitable. With a deep breath, Ben closed his eyes, raised the Magikarp to his face, and planted a big wet kiss right on the pokemon's slimy mouth. Biting back tears (and his stomach), Ben threw the traumatized fish back into the ocean. Wiping his mouth, he turned to Hugo who was holding his fish just in front of his face, looking uneasy.

"Come on Hugo. You were part of the bet too," he said bending over his pokemon. "You can't Snubbull out n- BLEEEAAACH! HUGO! I'm going to beat you!" as he was bending over to talk his pokemon through his lost bet, Hugo had turned and planted the backside of the Magikarp firmly on Ben's mouth. Laughing, the mischievous Makuhita scampered away to hide behind Rocky, who had fallen to the ground laughing. Ben stormed after the little yellow pokemon, intent on introducing it to a Tentacool he had seen in the water.

"Oh, come on Ben! That was awesome! I even consider the bet settled! What's the big deal? Its just a little 'Karp Kissing between friend!" laughed Rocky. Scowling, but losing the battle to a grin, Ben leapt at Hugo, Rocky, and Bruno. The four of them began a rough, impromptu beach sparring session. It lasted only a short while before Ben spoke up.

"Wait a minute! We need to go see Brawly! We've got to get to work on our League Certifications," said Ben, releasing Rocky from his headlock. Bruno let go of Hugo's leg as he stood up off the other pokemon's back.

"You're right. Come on guys, it's time to get a Knuckle Badge!" cheered Rocky. The two boys punched each other's firsts, and turned to walk back into town. Their two pokemon followed close at heel, not wanting to be left behind for what they knew was about to become a great adventure.


End file.
